Artificial siding for use in a building construction



A. SALVO 3,

ARTIFICIAL SIDING FOR USE IN./\ BUlI-JDING CONSTRUCTION Jan. 7, 1969 Filed Dec 19, 1966 INVENTOR ANTHONY SALVO.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An artificial siding that simulates wood shingles and that includes a base member on which a plastic laminate is adhered. The plastic laminate extends beyond the confines of the base member to form an upper and side extension and a lower sealing edge, the extensions cooperating with sealing edges of an adjacent siding to form a sealed interlock between the adjacent sidings.

Background of the invention The present application has particular use in residential buildings which require some form of decorative exterior. When the building construction is formed with siding, it has been the practice heretofore to employ the ordinary wood shingle as the siding material. The use of wood has the advantage of being readily available and may be cut to any size and shape to produce the shingle required. However, wood shingles as employed heretofore have poor wear characteristics and must be maintained periodically by the application of paint thereto. Wood shingles are also not very effective insulators and normally some other form of packing or insulating material has been utilized heretofore when wood shingles are used in a building construction.

Prior to the instant invention some attempts have been made to simulate wood shingles and one of the more common types of simulated shingles or siding is the extruded aluminum siding. However, aluminum siding is expensive to manufacture, and, therefore, the cost of replacing wood shingles with aluminum siding or constructing a new building with aluminum siding is sometimes prohibitive.

Other forms of artificial shingles or sidings have also been developed heretofore but have been defective either in the wear characteristics thereof or have not been so realistic in appearance as to simulate actual wood shingles or siding. Another disadvantage of the prior known artificial siding has been the inability thereof to form a seal between the sidings, and thus these prior known sidings have been found to have poor insulating characteristics.

Summary of the invention The artificial siding of the present invention includes a base member on a face of which a plastic laminate is adhered, the outer surface of the laminate simulating the apparance of actual wood shingles. The laminate extends beyond the peripheral edges of the base member to define upper and side extensions and a lower sealing edge, the upper and side extensions being directly secured to a wall on which the siding is mounted. The lower sealing edge is inclined with respect to the horizontal and engages the upper peripheral edge of the laminate formed on an adjacent lower siding and further abuts the upper extension of the lower siding. The inclination of the sealing edge and a corresponding inclination of the peripheral edge of the laminate of the lower siding defines an interlock that secures the adjacent sidings in engaging relation without the requirement of external fastening elements.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide 3,420,024 Patented Jan. 7, 1969 "ice an artificial siding that simulates the appearance of wood shingles.

Another object of the invention is to provide an artificial building siding that includes a lower sealing edge and an upper and side extension that enables the siding to be mounted on a building wall.

Still another object is to provide an artificial siding in which the lower edge thereof defines a sealing edge that interlocks with an upper peripheral edge of a lower siding to effectively interlock the sidings without the requirement or use of external fastening elements.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

Description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a group of artificial sidings as embodied in the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of one of the sidings embodied herein; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of adjacent sidings showing the overlapping side edges thereof.

Description of the invention Referring now to the drawing, the artificial siding embodied in the present invention is indicated generally at 10 and, as shown in FIG. 2, is comprised of a base member 12 to which a laminate is permanently adhered to define an outer surface 14. In connection with the fabrication of the artificial siding 10 and the method of forming the laminate for adherence to the base member 12, reference is made to copending application Ser. No. 553,638, filed May 31, 1966 and entitled Building Shingle.

In the aforesaid copending application, the laminate is disclosed as being formed of several layers of plastic material, including at least a layer of Fiberglas mat that defines a reinforcing layer for the laminate. The laminate further includes additional layers of resinous material that cooperate with the Fiberglas mat to define a wear and corrision resistant surface that is molded so that the outer surface simulates the appearance of actual wood shingles.

The laminate is further described in the aforesaid copending application as being adhered to a base member that is formed of an insulating material, such as wood fibers, and thus, the siding as applied to the exterior surface of a building construction, will act to insulate the Wall when applied in the manner as set forth hereinafter. Although the laminate as indicated in the drawing herein is shown only as a single layer of material, it is understood that this laminate is formed of a plurality of layers of plastic material as described in the abovementioned copending application. It is further understood that the exterior surface 14 of the laminate includes surface impressions and details of actual wood shingles that have been impressed therein during the formation of the siding. The artificial shingle 10 is also formed so that the laminate has a pigment impregnated therein to impart a finish color to the exterior surface of the artificial siding that will be of the required color as contemplated for the use thereof. Since the laminate is formed of wear-resistant resinous materials, the color impregnated therein is permanent and will not wear or scrape off due to weathering or other normal wear as experienced in external building constructions formed of wood.

In molding the laminate to the base member 12, the mold is prepared, and the base member 12 is constructed so that the peripheral edges of the finished siding 10 are provided with flashing or extensions of the laminate that enable the siding to be mounted on a wall of a building 3 indicated at 16 in FIG. 2. As will be further described,

the flashing or extensions of the laminate further define a seal or interlock as the sidings are secured one on top of the other on the wall 16.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the base member 12 is shown being formed with upper and lower edges that are preformed so as to be somewhat inclined with respect to the horizontal, which provides for a sealing arrangement as will be described. In molding the laminate to the base member 12, the laminate covers the inclined upper and lower edges of the base member in addition to overlapping the side edges thereof. The upper and lower edges of the laminate that are indicated at 18 and 20, respectively, conform to the inclination of the base member edges and thus are not disposed at exactly right angles with respect to the outer surface 14 of the laminate. In this connection, the edges 18 and 20 are generally parallel and when they are disposed in engaging relation upon the interlocking of an upper siding to a lower siding, as seen in FIG. 2, the plane extending through the mating surfaces the upper -and lower edges defines an obtuse angle with respect to the outer surface 14 of the laminate.

The mold for applying the laminate to the base member 12 is further arranged and constructed so that the side edges of the laminate indicated at 22 and 24 in FIGS. 1 and 4 taper outwardly from top to bottom with respect to the upper and lower edges of the base member 12, whereupon when the siding 10 is applied to a wall, the outer surface 14 of the laminate is somewhat inclined with respect to the vertical. Since the outer surface of actual wood shingles as mounted on a building wall are pitched, the pitching of the outer surface 14 further adds a realistic effect to the siding 10.

In order to mount the siding 10 on the wall 16, an upwardly projecting extension 26 is integrally joined to the upper edge 18 and is formed as part of the flashing of the laminate during the molding thereof onto the base member 12. The inclined lower edge 20 of the laminate projeets rearwardly beyond the rear surface of the base member 12 and as will be described cooperates with a lower siding upper extension 26 to define a sealing edge in the mounting of the sidings on the wall 16. A side extension 28 defined by the flashing formed in molding of the laminate on the base member 12 is formed integral with the side wall 22 and is contiguous with the upper extension 26. As will be described, the extensions 26 and 28 are employed for securing the siding 10 to the wall 16 and will be overlapped by the sealing edge 20 and side edge 24 of adjacent sidings to cooperate therewith to form a seal or Weatherstrip as the sidings 10 are applied to the wall 16.

In applying the siding 10 to the wall 16, the extension 26 is secured in face-to-face relation with the wall by fastening elements or nails 30 that are placed along the length thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the extension 26 as applied to the wall 16 is vertically disposed and thus is located in nonparallel relation with respect to the surface 14 of the laminate as applied to the outer surface of the base member 12. The extension 28 is also disposed in surface-to-surface relation with respect to the wall 16 and is secured thereto by nails 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. The sidings 10 are placed in side-by-side relation along the length of the wall 16, the edge 24 of one siding overlapping and abutting the extension 28 of the adjacent siding and engaging the edge 22 in surface-to-surface relation. With the extensions 26 exposed, the next upper level of sidings 10 are then applied to the wall 16. In locating the next upper level of sidings on the wall 16, the lower sealing edges 20 thereof are interfitted in flush relation with respect to the upper edges 18 and in abutting relation with respect to the extensions 26. As seen in FIG. 2, the planes of the upper edge 18 and the sealing edge 20 are substantially parallel; and since these planes are inclined with respect to the outer surface 14 of the laminate, an interlock is formed between the engaging edges 18 and 20 that prevents the siding 10 from being pulled outwardly of the wall 16 when the upper siding 10 is secured in place on the wall. Thus, it is seen that external fastening elements are not required for locating the lower portion of the sidings 10 on the wall 16. With the upper extensions 26 tacked in place by the fastening elements or nails 30, the lower sealing edges 20 will abut the extensions 26 and will be locked against outward movement by engagement thereof with the upper edges 18 of the lower sidings.

It is further seen that the sidings 10 are secured in place on the wall 16 such that the extensions 26 and 28 are overlapped by the adjacent edges of the top and side sidings and thereby define a Weatherstripping or seal for the wall 16. In this connection the use of the flashing as defined by the extensions 26 and 28 avoids the requirement of using additional sealing or Weatherstripping materials, particularly since the base member 12 also defines an insulating member. It is understood that the artificial siding 10 is resistant to impact and temperature and is further resistant to moisture and corrosion that is inherent in wood shingles. Because of the use of the plastic materials as described herein, the artificial shingle is simple to clean and maintain, and it is understood that use of the pigment as formed as part of the laminate avoids periodic painting of the siding.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it Will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a building construction, a plurality of artificial sidings mounted on a wall of said building construction, each of said sidings including a base member on a face of which a plastic laminate is adhered, the outer surface of said laminate simulating the appearance of actual wood shingles, said laminate extending beyond the confines of said base member to form an upper extension, a lower sealing edge and side edges, the plane of the upper extension of said laminate being oifset with respect to the plane of the outer laminate surface as adhered to said base member, said laminate having an upper peripheral edge that interconnects said offset upper extension and the portion of the laminate that is adhered to the face of the base member, said upper peripheral edge being inclined upwardly with respect to the horizontal to define an acute angle with the upper extension, said lower sealing edge being inclined with respect to the horizontal and being generally parallel to said upper peripheral edge, the dimension of said lower sealing edge being greater than that of said upper peripheral edge wherein the outer laminate surface as adhered to said base member has an increasing inclination from top to bottom with respect to the vertical and the lower sealing edge of each siding overhangs the outer laminate surface of the adjacent lower siding, the lower sealing edge of each siding being received in flush engagement on the parallel upper peripheral edge of an adjacent lower siding and in contact with the upper extension of the adjacent lower siding to define an interlock therewith for locating the adjacent sidings in locking engagement, whereby the sidings are prevented from being pulled outwardly of the wall.

2. In a building construction as set forth in claim 1, the laminate of each siding further including a side extension that is offset with respect to the plane of the laminate as adhered to said base member and that is contiguous with said upper extension.

3. In a building construction as set forth in claim 2, a side edge of the laminate of each siding overlapping the side extension of an adjacent siding in abutting relation to form an effective Weatherstripping therewith.

5 6 4. In a building construction as set forth in claim 1, 3,319,390 5/1967 Pannullo 52-521 X the plane of the upper extension of the laminate of each 789,147 5/ 1905 Edmiston 52311 siding being nonparallel with respect to the plane of the laminate as adhered to its base member, wherein the FOREIGN EN upper extension is located flush against the wall for secure- 5 mm therem 1,202,681 1959 France.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,306,488 6/1919 Kuehn 52529 US. 01. X.R. 2,318,022 5/1943 Stolz 52-519 X 3,217,453 11/1965 Medow 52-589 x 52-421 JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner. 

